Attributed to Mark Twain, humour is defined as Tragedy Plus Time. Come and join Ed as he tests that formula by mining the most tragic event in his life for laughs.
We have received the news that due to a
performance opportunity in New York, Ed Byrne will no longer be able to appear
at the Pavilion Theatre on Friday 10th November (2023). We have however managed to
secure a new date, and the show will now take place on Sunday
22nd September 2024!
I was dying to see this show. It had been the highest-rated of all the Edinburgh Fringe shows of 2023, with the press describing it as "poignant, touching, spiky and laugh-out-loud funny." Laced with black humour, it recounted Ed's relationship with his younger brother, Paul, and the rocky times they shared up until Paul's death. My kind of comedy. Then, as you read above, the show was postponed. Fecker! Putting his desire to further his career over my need to laugh. How bloody selfish!
 |
| The two seats in front of us remained empty. |
I had my heckle "About bloody time!" primed and then I remembered I'm as meek as a mouse with a voice that doesn't project further than my nose, so I chose to remain silent.
Ed came on first to warm us up for his support act, Amy Matthews. He railed at the four empty seats in the front row, knowing they had been sold, commenting he reckoned that was the ultimate heckle, not turning up, knowing it was the best way to get under his skin. Then, instead of saying nice things about Amy, he undercut her introduction with playful jibes like "You'll know her from her blog, 'Ten Things I hate about Glasgow', updated hourly." All in impish fun.
I can't tell you what Amy talked about because I closed my eyes and tuned out. My temporary mental absence might have been due to her Emily Blunt-sounding accent or her bland material. I could vaguely hear others laughing, so this one's on me. I'm sure she was delightful.
Ed was brilliant. Given that his now-dead little brother was a renowned comedy director who helped up-and-coming performers fine-tune their shows, this was a perfect tribute to him. Every line was a killer, crafted for maximum comic effect. Yes, the material was dark but never shocking. Even the darkest joke he'd ever told was fitting in context. Even though Ed has been performing this show all over the world for over a year, he choked up at one point, retelling a conversation he'd had with his sister. He confessed that this was probably because he had family in the audience, his older brother (now just brother).
I'm glad I got to see this show now and not at the Fringe. There, it was constrained to one hour. Tonight, he gave us seventy minutes, even managing to throw in a funny topical aside about the Oasis reunion.
The show was not a sell-out. That was a shame because comedy doesn't get much better than this. I hope he records it for posterity, though getting clearance for Sebadoh III (the album Ed played on his phone while a comatose Paul was dying in hospital) might prove costly.
On the drive home, I thought I was getting chest pains, probably from all the laughing. I could have taken a detour to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital to get checked out but instead continued home, figuring that if I died within the next seven days, my wife would at least collect an extra death-in-service payment on top of my life insurance. That's how much of a caring husband I am.
Ticket Price: £27.50 x 2, plus £1.50 Postage and £2.65 Transaction Fee, from Pavilion Theatre (now Trafalgar Tickets).
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